Fornia



W. A. SCHMIDT AND E. R. WOLCOIT.

PROCESS OF TREATING PETROLEUM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-'27: 19H.

PatentedJune 24, 1919. I

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER AUGUST SCHMIDT AND EDSON RAY WOLCOTT, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,

ASSIGNORS T0 INTERNATIONAL PRECIPITATION COMPANY, OF LOS'ANG-ELES, CALI- FORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

-PROCESS 0F TREATING PETROLEUM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June-24, 19th..

original application filed May 24, 1915, Serial No. 30,037. Divided and this application filed March 27, 1917. Serial No. 157,812.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WALTER Aoeosr SCHMIDT and Enson RAY WoLoo'rr, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Processof Treating Petroleum, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the treatment of crude petroleum, or of petroleum products, in order to produce therefrom, products of different character or constitution. The main' application of the present invention is in the production of gasolene, kerosene, lubricating oil, etc, from crude petroleum, with a simultaneous production of heavy residues, including asphalt or other heavy hydrocarbons.

Our invention consists essentially in converting the hydrocarbons constituting crude petroleum, or petroleum product into the form of vapor, by the action of heat and then subjecting the resulting vapors to the action of a silent or corona discharge of electricity in such manner as to crack or decompose such hydrocarbons and cause a formation of other hydrocarbons for example, gasolene, kerosene, etc., together with heavy residual products, and condensing the hydrocarbon vapors resulting from such op-' eration, to produce-the gasolene and other products desired. We prefer to carry out the petroleum treating process herein described by the method of electrical acceleration or control claimed in our application Ser. No. 30,037, filed May 24, 1915, relating to a Process for electrically accelerating chemical reactions.- Our present invention, however, is not'necessarily limited to such specific method.

Accompanying drawing illustrates an apparatus suitable for carrying out this in-,

vention, said drawing being a vertical section of said apparatus.

The apparatus shown in the drawing comprises vaporizing means 1, an electrical re-' action chamber 2 and condensing means. Said reaction chamber comprising a casing or chamber formed as a vertical tube, having inlet means 5-for example, at its-lower end, and outlet means 6 at its upper end; and a discharge electrode 7 extending vertically and axially in said tube 4 acting as an opposing electrode, said discharge elec trode being mounted on suitable insulating meansfor example, an insulator 8 mounted in the top of the chamber 2. means, such as weight 9, may be provided for holding the discharge electrode in position.

Suitable means-are provided for supplying high tension current to the discharge electrode, said means comprising, for example, a step-up transformer 14 having its secondary winding connected at one end to ground, as indicated at 15, and at the other end to a wire 16 leading to a current controlling device 10, from which a wire 11 leads to the discharge electrode 7 The op- I posing electrode 2 is grounded as indicated Suitable at 12. The current controlling device 10,

which we prefer to use, is of the type shown in the patent of E. R. Woloott and I Rieber, No. 1,188,597 dated June 27, 1916; this device having the property of controlling an alternating, high tension current in such manner as to produce surges or fluctuations of current, which considerably increase the ionizing and resultant chemical action in the reaction chamber above. described.

Any suitable means may be provided for converting the crude petroleum or petroleum product to the form of vapor. For this purpose, a suitable still or vaporizer 1 may be provided with means 18 for feeding crude oil distillate or other hydrocarbon liquidthereto and adapted to supply sufficient heat to such hydrocarbon to convert all or part of the same to vapor form. A pipe 19 leads from this vaporizer to the inlet 5 of the electrical reaction chamber 2 above described, and a pipe 20 leads from saidvreaction chamber to suitable condensing means adapted to condense the products formed in chamber 2'. Said condensing means may comprise a plurality of condensers or coolers 21, 22, connected by suitable piping to condense successive products, and means 23 and 2% may be provided for drawing ofi such condensed products. An outlet pipe 25 may be provided. for the last condenser to carry off any uncondensed gas.

Our process may be carried out in the other hydrocarbons which are of higherdecomposed into different products under suitable conditions of temperature and pressure. The operation is, in fact, substantially one of cracking, the decomposi-- tion of the hydrocarbons being in this case due to the action of the electrical discharge. In general, the result is to produce some hydrocarbons which are of less molecular weight and lower boiling point than the original hydrocarbons, and also to produce boiling point. The resulting vapors are then cooled in the condensers 21 and 22 and one or more products of different character obtained. For example, when petroleum distillate is passed through the reaction chamber, a fraction consisting, of gasolene, or other comparatively light product, may be received in the condenser at a suitable stage of the cooling operation, this fraction being in excess of that which would ordinarily be obtained by a single fractional distillation.

The vapors in the reaction chamber are maintained at such temperature and pressure as to properly control the operation by the several conditlons of temperature, pressure and intensity of electrical action, according to the product or products desired. The controlling device 10 has, also, as set forth in the said patent to Wolcott and Rieber, the property of more or less completely rectifying the high tension alternating current supplied thereto, as well as, under some conditions, of producing surges of our rent due to sudden interruption thereof at said device. We have found that the action on the hydrocarbon vapor being treated is,

in some cases, more effective when such a device is included in the circuit.

Any condensed or unvaporized products which may collect in the chamber 2, may be drawn off through suitable means, indicated at 13.

What we claim is:

1. The process which consists in heating a liquid hydrocarbon to produce hydrocarbon vapor, subjecting such vapor to the action of corona discharge to crack the hydrocarbon, and condensing the resulting vapors to produce liquid products different from the original hydrocarbon.

2. The process of treating a liquid hydrocarbon which consists in converting the same to the form of vapor by the action of heat, subjecting such vapor to the action 1 of a silent electric discharge, and cooling the resulting product to produce a liquid product different from the original hydrocarbon.

3. The process which consists in subjecting a hydrocarbon to the'aetion of an electric discharge produced by rectified impulses of high tension alternating current, so as to produce products of different constitution from the original hydrocarbon.

4. The process of cracking petroleum vaporwhich consists in intermittently and suddenly lowering the resistance in the path of an alternating high tension current, such path including the vapor to be cracked, thereby producing intermittent electric discharges in said vapor.

5. The method of treating liquid hydrocarbon compounds which consists in vaporzing the same and then passing the same lxhile heated through the silent discharge of a oscillating electric current, and then condensing the same.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands, at Los Angeles, California, this 17th day of March, 1917.

WALTER AUGUST SCHMIDT. EDSON RAY WOLCOTT. 

